Silver for British men's eight on day of mixed fortunes in Bled

• Veteran Greg Searle disappointed at German eight's victory
• British lightweight men's pair take gold at world championships

Greg Searle of the Great Brtiain men's eight crew cut a disappointed figure after they finished second to the German eight in the final at the world championships. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

The disappointment of Greg Searle at his men's eight winning silver behind the all-conquering German crew on the first day of finals at the world championships showed just how much pressure there is to perform on the British team in the run-up to the London Olympic Games in 2012.

Searle's regret was matched by that of the British women's pair, who earlier lost the gold to New Zealand in a thrilling sprint for the line on Lake Bled in Slovenia. But those emotions were balanced by the joy of the British lightweight men's pair who in Thursday's only non-Olympic-class final took gold from Italy.

Frustration was etched across the face of Searle, the veteran talisman of the British eight, as he stepped out of the boat for the medal ceremony. "It is a bitter pill to swallow," the 39-year old admitted. Before the race, the Barcelona Olympic pair champion had set his heart on ending the German eight's three-year unbeaten streak.

But Searle claimed that his dream of winning a second Olympic gold in London next year is still very much alive. "With only 11 months to go until London, it is the sort of result that will keep us very motivated," he said.

The British men were undone by their lack of pace in the first half of the race, although Searle's stroke man, Dan Ritchie, said he thought their first 500m was their quickest of the competition. "After 500m, I could still see the German boat out of the corner of my eye," the 24-year-old said. "But we didn't move on like we should have done at the 1,000m mark."

At least the British eight did well to keep their cool in the difficult conditions at the finish to hold off Mike Spracklen's Canadian eight, who took bronze.

It was the pace of the Kiwi world champions in the final few strokes that ended the gold medal hopes of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning in the women's pair. The British duo had gone into their race with a victory over the New Zealand pair six weeks earlier in Lucerne.

"I was convinced throughout the whole of that race that we would win," Glover said. "But they got us in the last three strokes." More than two hours after the race, Glover was still close to tears as she talked about her frustration. "We led for almost all the race but could not quite hold it together."

The Cornishwoman admitted that it was a result that would provide more than enough motivation for the London Olympics. "We have come on so much in the last five weeks and I am sure we have got much more to improve next year," she added.

The disappointment of Glover and Stanning was contrasted with the delight of Keiren Emery and Peter Chambers as the two Under-23 world champions took the lightweight men's pair gold medal with a storming third-quarter burst, which took them past Italy and the early leaders, New Zealand.

The two men, who are hoping to win seats in the British lightweight four – an Olympic-class event – did their cause no harm. They kept focused while their Kiwi opposition went through the 1,000m mark in under world-record pace. "I was pretty confident that we could deliver in that race," Emery said.